


Feathered Friend.

by GoldenGothamite



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Food mention, Gen, Gotham, Gotham AU, Implied Nygmobblepot, Injured Character, Out of this world character, Yeah ok this is a stupid fic and i dont think many will read it but i hope you enjoy?, anthropomorphic character, oc au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-08-23 15:11:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16621367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenGothamite/pseuds/GoldenGothamite
Summary: A strange creature falls to earth, conveniently outside of the Van dahl manor.Edward and Oswald take it upon themselves to care for the creature.This is their story.!!! THIS FIC IS AN AU: NOT CANNON IN THE SLIGHTEST! YES IT FEATURES AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER, PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE!!!





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: I went through the first chapter and noticed a crazy amount of typos and just bad writing so ive gone through and changed it, i hope it reads better now! (16/11/18)

The fall  
It was a normal pleasant day at the Van Dahl mansion. Edward and Oswald were attending their usual duties, business starting to die down after being overwhelmed with Responsibilities now that Oswald was mayor. It was quiet for the first time that day, nobody coming or going. The penguin, was sat behind his desk, sipping on a glass of wine. While Ed was finishing up some last minute paperwork.

The peace didn't last long, peace is never welcomed for long in Gotham. The two men looked to each other, as a rustling of leaves followed by a loud thud could be heard coming from outside. Oswald pulled himself out of his chair, turning to the window, eyes widening as he focused on the figure in the distance. 

“What is it Oswald?” The taller man asked as his friend edged closer to the window. 

“I’m not sure Ed... it’s some sort of animal… I think it might be hurt” he replied. 

“Well leave it, that's nature.” he scoffed, turning back around to return to his seat but being stopped in his tracks as he is pulled back to the window. 

“No ED, really look. It’s not any normal animal.” he insisted, making Ed adjust his glasses, leaning closer to see the sad excuse of a beast crawling out of the bushes opposite, clearly wounded. 

The creature was large even when crouched down, covered head to toe in cream and white fur, a large set of wings draped over its back, a smaller pair of wings in place of where its ears should be and a long, thin tail curled around its leg. It seemed to Ed to be some sort of human-Dog hybrid, it had a the posture of a homosapien but its features were long and canine-esque. 

“My god, looks like some sort of mutant. We should stay here, it could be dangerous” Ed insisted, really not bothered about the creature as all he wanted to do was finish his work and rest. 

“Well i’m going out there. It clearly needs help!” Oswald said, grabbing his cane and heading out of the room in the direction of the front door. Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses, the voice in the back of his head egging him to follow. He turned his head to look out of the window, Oswald now standing about 10 feet away from the mystery being.

Oswald pointed his cane at the creature, who was sitting on the floor, the gesture telling it to stay back “you there, can you understand me?” he asked, the sad looking figure staring up at him with weak, tired eyes.

It nodded “yes mister, i can understand you…” it trailed off, holding its injured arm tightly, wings tiredly spread out against the cold concrete

Oswalds eyes widened as the form responded in clear english  
“what is your name? where did you come from?” he asked, inching closer.

“My name is Digby, please don’t hurt me..”

“Do not worry, I won’t hurt you as long as you don’t hurt me” 

“I’m not on about you sir, i’m talking to him” he said, pointing over Oswald's shoulder to the Green suited man, who was pointing a pistol at him. Oswald turned and gestured at ed.

“Edward don’t be stupid. Put that down!” He demanded, but Ed resisted, stepping closer to Digby, who starred concerningly back at him. He didn’t actually want to hurt the creature, but he wanted to make sure that it meant no harm. 

“Answer his questions. Where are you from?” 

“I’m not from this world sir, it would take more time than i currently have to fully explain my origins to you” 

“Why are you on earth? We’ve never seen a Beast like you before. What business could you have here?” Oswald injected, stepping to Ed’s side, curious to know more.

“Being here is my Exile, i did something my… our worlds leader did not approve of. I am supposed to survive here” He explains, covering his dignity with his tail, curling it from around his leg to round his waist. he was starting to shiver.

"Let me see if I understood you correctly. You've been put on a survival trial for a unknown period of time, or are you aware of the length of the process in order to redeem your violations?" Ed asked as Oswald was took off his jacket to hand to the naked specimen.

“I was not given a time for my sentence, i have no idea how long i will be stuck here…” Oswald helped him to his feet and the true height of the winged beast was revealed. He towered over Edward by about 6 inches, although neither men seemed to be intimidated by him. 

“Well… as much as i don’t like this, i suppose we can’t just leave you here.” Ed grumbled, following Oswald, who was guiding Digby towards the door  
“This place doesn't welcome creatures like you kindly….you will have to stay here for now until we can work out what to do with you” Oswald sighed, showing Digby through the large front door.  


“Sit here and i’ll see if i can find you some clothes” he said, looking him up and down, to try and work out if any of his or Ed's clothes would fit his larger stature. Oswald gestured for Digby to sit himself down on the sofa by the large ornate fireplace that was on the opposite side of the room, and he did so, wrapping the slightly to small overcoat around himself, holding in warmth. He sat on the edge of the seat, trying to position his large tired wings comfortably behind himself. After some thought, Oswald left the room.

Digby didn’t say a word, he simply stared into the fire, distant and deep in thought. So deep in thought that he didn't notice Ed staring at him from across his desk, attempting to finish up the few papers that he had left. His mind wouldn't let him concentrate, Digby was distracting. Although he was not doing anything his presence intrigued Edward. He rummaged around Under his desk, looking for something, then, he rose out of his chair, holding a Clear first aid box and strode over to Digby. Ed’s presence next to the large beast broke his gaze away from the crackling flames.  
“What's so fascinating? Do you not have fire on your planet?” he chuckled, opening the box .  
“Oh no. we do! It’s just...not like this” Digby softly smiled “our flames are more blue in colour, but i think this is much more pretty”  
“Well that’s easy to explain, Your atmosphere must have a higher concentration of oxygen, which means your flames have more energy, allowing them to retain the Blue coloured flame”  
Digby nodded in response, watching carefully as ed grabbed his injured arm, inspecting the damage. The Gash was about 4 inches long,not deep enough to rip a muscle but deep enough for it to bleed a fair amount, but the fluid coming out of the canines arm was not the deep red colour Ed was oh so familiar with. Instead it was a Dark, almost black substance, a soft blue shimmer throughout.  
“...your blood has qualities I've never seen before” he softly stated as he wiped the wound clean with a small alcohol wipe.  
“It does not usually look like this… im afraid i am drained of my magic here which means i rely on normal means to stay healthy and alive”  
“Normal means? Would you like to elaborate what ‘normal means’ are in more detail for me?” Ed asked, cocking his head slightly to look up at Digby’s long face for an answer.  
“well…. “ he cleared his throat, looking for the right words to use “on my home world….i would not need to eat food...we have tea but it's mostly water infused with magical flowers..”  
“So what you are saying is that you have never eaten any form of physical food because all of your energy and life force is fueled by a magical force?” Edward repeats in an cynical tone.  
Digby just replies with another nod and he looks over Ed to see Oswald returning to the room, a few clothes in his arms.  
“The only thing i could find that may fit you is this old sweater and some trousers. I hope it will suffice” He smiled as he shows the two seated figures some dark brown dress trousers and a tattered looking Olive green sweatshirt.  
“Oswald. That sweatshirt is mine.” he disapprovingly stated “it WAS my favourite sweatshirt.”  
“Yes but you don't wear it anymore. It seems a shame to leave it to the moths”  
Edward thinks for a moment as he places a gauze pad over Digby's newly clean wound and wraps his arm in a light bandage to hold the pad in place. Once the wound is secure, Ed turns back to Oswald and brushes back his fringe with an exasperated sigh. “Sure he can have the sweatshirt. Why not.”  
“Oh thank you so much Edward, i appreciate it greatly!” Digby smiles, standing up to take the clothes from Oswald's grasp, the suit jacket still tied around his waist. As he stands, he stomach grumbles quite loudly, clearly a feeling that Digby had never experienced due to the expression of embarrassment that crept into his face “o-oh my i am so sorry, i do not know where that came from”  
This earned a chuckle from Ed as he got off of the sofa, walking towards the kitchen “that calls for food. I’ll make some sandwiches” 

Oswald sat down on a large armchair that was situated opposite the sofa, and he covered his eyes as Digby slid the trousers onto his long, fluffy legs, doing his best not to get his paws stuck at the base. They were slightly too short for him, but they were comfortable, the waistband resting just below the base of his tail.

He struggled a bit more with the shirt however. The neckband was small, luckily made of elastic but still difficult. He put the shirt over his snout and freed his small head wings, moving on to pulling his arms through. It fit perfectly, the only issue was the wings on his back that were trapped inside the soft cotton fabric, in a fairly uncomfortable position. 

“Oswald...i seem have a problem” he mumbled. Oswald's opened his eyes as Digby turns his back to him, seeing the wings poking out from the top and bottom of the sweater.  
“Oh yes...i didn't think of that” he said, confused as to how to overcome this issue. He shouted into the kitchen for assistance“Edward! Come here!” 

It didn't take long for the tall man to return to the room, apron around his waist “yes? What seems to be the-” he stopped as he saw Digby standing there, looking like a cat that got caught tangled in string. “Ah. i see.” he leant against the door frame. “Would it help if you cut some holes in the back?” he suggested, as he turned his back to them, Strolling back into the kitchen.

Oswald got up out of his chair and walked over to the desk, where he took a pair of ornate scissors from a drawer and gestured for Digby to walk over to him. He made his way over, carefully weaving around the furniture dotted about the room. He turned around, allowing Oswald to carefully force the scissors through the soft fabric, the cold blunt edge of the blade gently gliding across Digby's back. Oz cut 2 slits and put the scissors down. He watched intently as Digby expertly wiggled his appendages out of the fabric, beautiful soft white feathers softly lit by the dwindling fire. 

Edward Returned with a large plate of assorted finger sandwiches, and placed it on the large table in the centre of the room. “Help yourself Digby, let me know what you think of your first taste of food” he smiled, sitting down and anticipating praise. Digby walked to the edge of the table, leaning over and taking one of the sandwiches from the top of the pile, feeling the soft bread between his fingers, he tore it in half, ham filling inside tearing slowly. He raised it to his lips, softly sniffing it before placing it in his mouth, carefully chewing and swallowing it, politely covering his mouth with his hand.

“they are lovely Edward, thank you” he smiled and ate the other half of the sandwich. 

Oswald stood by the desk, Thinking deeply. Ed got up and walked over to him, putting his hand on his friends shoulder. “Oswald, what are you thinking” he asked quietly, so Digby couldn't hear. The penguin seriously looked up at Edward, leaning a tad closer and whispered.  
“We can’t let him know who we really are, you know that right?” ed moved his gaze to the floor “He trusts us Ed. we don't know what he is but he's helpless.” 

“I know what you are saying Oswald but how long do you think we can keep that ruse up?” He replied, in a hushed gruff voice. 

“We have to try. Otherwise who knows what will happen. We just have to keep him out of the store room and keep him in the dark” 

“what if he starts to ask questions? Do we just lie to him?”

They both turn to look at Digby, who was happily helping himself to more food, taking in the new experiences he's having, tail gently wagging behind him. For some reason, Oswald feels a warm feeling inside himself, he seems to already care for the winged beast. He sighs pushing past Ed to stand next to Digby's chair, making him turn to look up at the messy haired gent “is everything alright Oswald?”

“Yes, Digby, we just wanted to inform you that, you are welcome here as long as you need, although there will be two strict rules you will have to follow” he said in a serious tone, seeing the canine listening closely. “ first rule, please don't go into mine,Ed’s or the room at the end of the hall upstairs. Secondly, i recommend you do not leave this house.” 

“may i ask why not?” Digby asked, a concerned look on his face

Ed injected “this city can be dangerous, especially if you aren't educated on what its capable of, its safer for you here, where we can protect you” 

Digby looked to the floor and nodded “i understand. Thank you for this Edward, Oswald, i’m very grateful for your hospitality” 

They all sat down around the table and Edward spoke up “so Digby, how about you tell us more about your world?” he wanted to see if the stories he told would amount to anything. Digby spoke, telling stories of a wonderful clean ecosystem where spirits roam, where the dead go to rest and everyone lives in harmony. A world powered by magic and hope. The stories seemed too perfect and convenient for Edward and Oswald to believe, but somehow they did believe him. The pure compassion in his voice and dreamy expression on his face convinced them that his stories were true. He talked for about an hour until they finally stopped him, realising that they needed to rest, preparing for the day of work tomorrow. 

“Your stories are incredible Digby but i'm afraid we must be going to bed” Oswald smiled, pulling himself out of the carved wooden chair. “We don't really have a spare bed for you but you are more than welcome to sleep on the sofa for now.” 

They all made their own way round the house, the two criminals retiring to their rooms for the night and Digby curling up on the sofa, wrapping his wings around himself like a soft feathery blanket. 

he had no idea what was to come, he was scared, but excited.

He slowly let his eyes fall closed, his exhaustion taking over him.


	2. Getting Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Digby settles into the manor and finds out more about his new friends.

The early morning rays shone through the gaps of the trees and into the frosted windows of the mansion. Ed was already awake, quietly manoeuvring around the large living room, doing his best not to wake up the sleeping pup who was still pleasantly curled up on the Couch, fire besides him now burned out, only soft embers crackling out of the ashes. He sat tiredly behind his desk, picking up the unfinished papers from the day before to attempt to finish them.

With Oswald still in slumber upstairs and their new canine friend peacefully sleeping too, Edward could concentrate. He finished the left over forms in record time and put them all on top of the pile of completed work to take with him to the mayoral office later in the day. He straightens up and glances over at Digby who was stirring now, rolling onto his back, his wings outspread, taking up a fair amount of space. They were impressive, having what Edward assumed to be around an 8 foot wingspan from tip to tip. 

He made his way towards the kitchen to make breakfast for the three of them, he knew Oswald would be awake soon and that Digby would most likely want more food considering how quickly he scoffed down those sandwiches yesterday. He made something simple, something he knew how to make off by heart. Crepes with cream and fruit. Simple but delicious. He plated it all out, perfect presentation and all, carefully placing each berry onto the plates. All 3 plates were carefully carried into the main room, two were placed on the large table in the centre of the room and the third, he carried back to his desk to eat. 

Ed was enraptured by Digby, focusing on every feature of his face as he stared intriguing from across the room. It was long and sleek, soft tufts sticking out from the sides of his cheeks and what seemed to be freckles, dotted under his eyes. The fur,or more likely hair, on top of his head was messy, some parts longer than the rest, almost as if it had recklessly been chopped in a rush. He watched as the canine slowly awoke, slowly opening his chocolate brown eyes, sleepily yawning mid stretch, showing his surprisingly flat teeth and deep blue tongue.

“Good morning Digby” He chirpily sang from across the table, alerting him of his presence. 

“Good morning Edward” He paused for a second, sitting himself up, and taking in his surroundings, refreshing his memory “i will assume it's morning, yes?” he asks, earning a confused laugh from Ed who had made his way over to sit besides Digby, handing him the plate of crepes he had made for the his new found ‘friend’.  
He wasn't certain if he could call him a friend yet,but he definitely appreciated the newfound interest, other than constant mayoral work or criminal doings, having another face around was almost a breath of fresh air for his more curious side. 

“You say that like you don’t know what ‘morning’ is! Let me guess ‘morning isn't like that on your planet?’” he asked condescendingly.

“Well no… i just didn't know how long i had slept, of course we have ‘morning’ on my planet” The soft voiced canine replied, softly giggling and making an embarrassment out of eds sarcasm.

“Well then yes, it is morning, around-” He mumbled, checking his watch “8 AM, Oswald should be coming down any minute now.” 

Digby held the fork in his hand, breaking a bit of the crepe off, placing it in his mouth, the sweetness of the cream awakening his senses, making him smile. The berries were sour, but also still had a sweetness to them. 

“I hope the cream doesn't upset your stomach, i have no idea how your kind processes food so i tread carefully when making it.” ed remarked as Digby quickly finished the plate of food. “Canines like you tend to have an intolerance to dairy so i do hope you process the lactose more similarly to humans” 

“You seem like a very smart man Edward, i think i can learn a lot from you” 

Ed felt a warm feeling grow in his chest, having recognition for his intelligence was very rare, well, genuine recognition. It made him...happy? The pure and kind nature of Digby was so real, it made ed wander what vile thing this kind creature could have done to be exiled from his home. This feeling was soon faded however as Digby spoke once more. 

“Do you think i could go with you today? I’d like to see more of the city, i’m prepared to take the risk!” 

“Digby you can’t. It’s far too dangerous, for me and for you. It’s safer for everyone if you stay. You can learn many things here” He replied, turning to point through to the large bookshelves in a smaller room attached to the one they currently resided in “there’s a great selection of books, your able to read, yes?” 

“ Yes, i can read. I Quite enjoy it, it’s one of my favoured past times” Digby replied, twiddling his thumbs, clearly disheartened by the stern response.  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, both men lost in thought until they heard the loud distinctive three click pattern of Oswald's heeled footsteps, followed by his cane.

As he turned to enter the room, he paused for a moment, forgetting about the extra presence in the house. Admittedly he went to bed last night hoping he would wake up and the encounter was all a dream. But Alas, it was real.  
“morning.” He grumbled as he sat at the large table, in front of the remaining plate of breakfast. Digby nodded and smiled in response to his greeting as Ed arose out of his chair  
“Good morning Oswald!” he chirped, pulling out a stack of papers from behind his back, placing them on the table besides his friend. “i managed to finish these in time! You might want to look through them before the meeting today.”  
Oswald nodded, quickly flicking through them “im sure they are fine. I trust you know the whereabouts of our we-” he paused, recalculating his words “no matter. We shall discuss it later.” 

“I still think you should read through the notes, just to be sure.” he insisted, a slight desperation in his voice.

Oswald sighed through gritted teeth “ I will read it in the car on our way, if that’s agreeable with you” he said in a direct tone, implying that ed should give up the ghost and let him finish his breakfast in peace.

During their conversation, Digby had made his way over to the bookshelf located in the adjoining room, he was taking his time to examine the titles on the shelf, seeing if anything peaked his interest. As he was doing so, he noticed a small dried patch of blood on his palm, from yesterday's wound. Looking down further he also noticed light dried mud on his toes, from his forceful fall into the bush. He figured he should probably bathe.

He poked his head out from behind the door frame, seeing the two men putting their overcoats on, preparing to leave. “oh, i hope you don't mind me asking. May i use your bathing facilities?” he politely asked.  
“of course.The bathroom is the first one you see on the left upstairs.”

‘a room for their bath?’ Digby thought. He was so used to having his large outdoor bath on Homeworld that he almost forgot that humans have smaller baths indoors.  
Edward and Oswald were making their way out of the house, making their farewells to Digby. Before they shut the door, Oswald peeked his head back into the house.  
“oh, just be careful. And remember, do NOT go into those rooms. remember?” 

“why yes i remember.” 

And with that, they were gone. Digby was not sure when they would return but he knew that right now, his priority was to get clean.  
He made his way up the stairs and into the bathroom.  
“oh my…” he said to himself as he saw the bath. He knew that humans used smaller baths but this….was smaller than he had imagined. He turned the left tap, letting the water run, realising after a few minutes that the hole in the base needed to be plugged for the water to rise. He undressed and climbed into the tub as the water was rising, slowly lowering himself, being careful not to crush his delicate wings against the cold porcelain. Digby’s form took up most of the tub, even with his knees tucked into his chest. The water was calming and warm, seemingly washing away all his worries. Just for a moment he forgot how the fox deceived him, he forgot how disappointed his mother was. In that moment he forgot his pain.  
Was he forgetting or remembering?  
Silent tears started to roll down his cheeks, he quickly wiped them away in confusion. ‘Why am i crying” he thought as the tears kept flowing. His arm started to hurt again, pain flaring up in his chest. He unravelled the bandage from around his shoulder, revealing the wound that had closed up overnight, only a dark blueish scab covering the area. He was crying still, sobbing now as those memories he thought he had left behind came flowing back. Everything hurt but he was numb at the same time, the sobbing was starting to stop as he breathed deeply, lightly scrubbing himself cleaning away all of yesterday's pain. 

He sat and contemplated his life for a while, soaking away in the slowly cooling water.  
As he pulled himself up and out of the tub, he realised his usual method of drying would not work. He was so used to shaking himself dry, he didn't even consider getting a towel beforehand. Luckily he could spot a fresh pile on top of a laundry basket at the other side of the room, he padded over, grabbing one and starting to dry himself with it, starting from his face, all the way down to his feet, then his tail and lastly his wings, which he carefully wiped down, not wanting to break a feather or worse, pull one out. When he was sure he was dry he redressed, walking over to a steamed over cabinet mirror that was above the sink. He had never seen his reflection in a before, only in the water. There were no mirrors on Homeworld, they encourage vanity, something his mother didn't approve of. He wiped clean the mirror with the towel and examined his reflection for the first time. He wasn't sure what he looked like before, as his hair was considerably longer before the incident. He played around with the style, deciding to leave it messy at the front, it felt the most natural.

Digby decided to Head back downstairs and see if he could find out any more information about Edward and Oswald from what he could find around the house. It was silent, all he could hear was the breeze outside and the ticking of a nearby clock, which he got up to examine closer. Admittedly they did not have clocks on his planet, only large sundials casting shadows of time. This particular clock was hung on the wall, large round frame decorated in gold leaf patterns. Below the clock was a cabinet with ornate carvings etched on the doors.  
Digby outstretched his hands and slowly opened the doors. He was greeted with various files, books and leaflets, all decorated with an umbrella seal. He carefully took out a box from the left hand side of the cabinet. It was a white box with a blue and red stripe going along the top, and a sticker with an address, which Digby assumed to be the address of the manor. He knew he should not pry into other people's possessions but he was desperate to find more about his new friends. As he opened the box he was greeted with many large round pin badges decorated with the slogan "Cobblepot for mayor" followed by the same umbrella seal as the other envelopes in the cabinet.  
'Cobblepot? Is that a friend of Oswald's?' He thought, pushing the box aside to examine the other items. He opened one of the envelopes which had the seal on the back, sliding out the paper from inside and opening it up.

'Dear Oswald Cobblepot, 

I am happy to hear that you have been elected to take the position of mayor.-'  
It was all coming together. The badges, the leaflets, all the work the two men were doing, the expensive suits.

'Oswald is the mayor of Gotham!' He thought 'But what does that make Ed?....his assistant? Advisor? Maybe they are lovers...they do seem pretty close' his mind wondered, losing track of the puzzle he was trying to piece together. He looked through more of the papers, finding out more information of Oswald's position and Status in the city. Once he was done, satisfied with his findings of Oswald's career, he put the box and papers neatly back into the cabinet. Closing the doors, it was almost like he had never been in there. With his curiosity satisfied for now, he decided to sit down and read. He wasn't sure what the novel was about, he just saw the illustrated cover that drew him in, but he made himself comfortable on the sofa he slept in last night and started reading.

He read continuously for around 5 hours, being enraptured by the wonderful fantasies that the words created in his mind, that was until he heard the front door open and two familiar voices chatting between each other, his friends. They turned to enter the room, smiles on their faces and bags of something savory in their hands.

“Good evening Digby! We thought it would be nice to bring back some food!” Edward chirped through a friendly smile 

“No. you just didn’t want to cook tonight” Oswald chuckled, sitting down and placing his cane besides him, smiling at Digby who had placed his book onto the table “I do hope your day was pleasant Digby.” 

“Oh yes, it was fine thank you!” looked to his hands “i hope you do not mind but, i wanted to know more about you both so...i at the stuff in that cabinet over there” he pointed.  
He could see Edward and Oswald stop breathing for a moment, a paleness falling over both of them. Oswald spoke up, gripping his hand tightly around the head of his cane.  
“well…what did you find out?” a shakiness to his voice.  
Edward still had not moved, his eyes staring through Digby as if he had seen a ghost.  
“oh nothing bad! i just learnt of your recent position as mayor, that's is all!” he smiled reassuringly “congratulations! it's quite the title is it not?”

A deep sigh left Edwards lips and Oswald loosened his grip on this cane. Their secret was safe, for now. 

“why yes it is quite a title, thank you” Oswald nervously chuckled as he picked up a take away box out of the bag, leaning over to hand it to Digby “we got you something...sensible, nothing that will potentially upset your stomach” 

Digby kindly took it and opened it up, being greeted by noodles and vegetables that were packed to the brim. “thank you so much, i shall enjoy this i think”  
Edward returned from the kitchen with some forks, which he handed out between them all.  
“that's a fine book you are reading, are you enjoying earths literature?” Ed smiled, pointing to the upturned book with the prongs of his fork.  
“why yes! It is quite wonderful!...although the writer seems to not fully grasp some simple scientific concepts” he chuckled, making ed laugh in turn, Oswald shaking his head and mumbling “gosh..not you too”  
“i am so glad you think so! That is a point not a lot of people seem to even notice!” he cheered, feeling ecstatic knowing someone else had at least a fraction of the knowledge that he does.  
All three men sat, ate, and talked, not about anything in particular, just asking questions back and forth, with Ed and Oswald tactfully avoiding any taboo questions with further interest in Digby's home. what they did not know is that Digby himself was doing the same thing, avoiding telling both of his saviours the truth about his exile. 

Half an hour into their discussion, with most of the food almost gone, ed stood up and brushed himself down “i hope you both don't mind but i am going to go have a bath.” 

“not a problem, Ed. We will be alright for a whilst, won't we Digby?” Oswald smiled, gazing over at Digby who had a mouthful of food. He nodded in agreement, smiling up at ed. 

Edward then left, making his way up the wooden staircase to the bathroom, Oswald and Digby staying where they sat, continuing to eat what was left of their take away, Digby seemingly watching Oswald, wanting to say something but holding himself back. Oswald noticed this. 

“Digby, is there something wrong?” he asked perching himself on the edge of his seat, leaning his weight onto his good leg. 

“oh uhm no! Nothing wrong… there is something i wanted to ask you but i'm not certain if it would be rude to do so.” he nervously smiled, rubbing the nape of his neck.  
“well i can't imagine i will be offended, please go ahead and ask” Oswald was intrigued now, taking a sip of his wine in anticipation.  
“well...i just wondered how long you and Edward had been a couple”  
Oswald was so shocked that he almost choked on his drink, coughing slightly.  
“no, no, Digby! Were not a couple i'm afraid” he picked up a napkin off the table, wiping the spilled drink from his mouth.  
“your afraid? Does that mean you would like to be together?” his eyes lit up, smiling innocently at the still shocked Oswald, he had not expected that question at all  
“well….i can't say i would not like it to be true, no but you have to understand its not that simple.”  
The innocent smile on digs face slowly dropped, realising he had finally stepped over some boundaries.  
“I’m sorry Oswald, i should not have asked. I promise i will not bring it up again”  
“No worries Digby, please just keep this private matter between us.”  
“ of course” he smiled once more, reaching over to place his soft, comforting hand over Oswald's 

“i promise” 

Oswald couldn't help but smile back, the short silky fur on Digbys fingers brushing against his. This gesture was genuine and reassuring, he could see in Digbys eyes that he was true.

An uneventful night proceeded from then, they finished their meals, tidied up and sent themselves to bed, Digby sitting by the fire, reading his book until he felt himself drift off, curling up on the comfortable rug beneath him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this chapter took a while to come out! thank you if you are still reading! this chapter also ends abruptly because i wasn't sure how to end it, but i hope you all are enjoying it so far!!

**Author's Note:**

> if you have read this far, thank you so much 
> 
> kudos and comments are really appreciated!


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